Brad Tavares
Brad Tavares is an Hawaiian Mixed martial arts fighter. Tavares was on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz season and has a record of 12-1. Tavares holds notable wins over Seth Baczynski, Phil Baroni, Tom Watson, Riki Fukuda and Lorenz Larkin. Mixed Martial Arts career Early career Tavares started his MMA career in 2008 in his home state of Hawaii, compiling a record of 5-0, with three technical knockouts and two submission wins. He originally started training with MMAD ran by the likes of Randy Leuder, Brandon Wolff (UFC), and Rob Hesia. He still returns home to Hawaii to train with MMAD/Gracie Technics when not training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. The Ultimate Fighter 11 In March 2010, Tavares was announced as part of the eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter. In the elimination round, Tavares defeated Jordan Smith via KO (knee) after less than a minute. He was selected fifth by Team Liddell and tenth overall. Tavares then defeated James Hammortree in the second preliminary fight. After two rounds, the fight was declared a draw and the fighters went to a third round. Tavares took control in the third round and was declared the winner, advancing him into the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, Tavares fought Seth Baczynski. As the first round ended, Baczynski threw an illegal soccer kick to the head of Tavares. Baczynski immediately apologized, knowing he could have seriously hurt Tavares, who went to his corner and slumped. After discussing the matter with the doctors, Herb Dean stopped the fight and Tavares was declared the winner by disqualification, advancing him to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, Tavares faced teammate Court McGee, for a place in the live final. After a fairly even first two rounds, Tavares was rocked late in the third. McGee then locked in a Rear Naked Choke, handing Tavares his first loss. UFC In The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale, Tavares re-matched Seth Baczynski. This time, Tavares walked away with a unanimous decision victory.http://www.sherdog.com/events/UFC-The-Ultimate-Fighter-11-Finale-12897 In his next fight for the promotion, Tavares faced veteran Phil Baroni at UFC 125. Tavares caught Baroni with a knee, followed by several punches before referee Josh Rosenthal stopped the bout at 4:20 in the first round. Tavares then replaced Jason Miller at UFC 132 to fight Aaron Simpson on July 2, 2011. He lost via unanimous decision. Tavares was expected to face Tim Credeur on October 29, 2011 at UFC 137. However, Creduer was forced out of the bout and replaced by promotional newcomer Dustin Jacoby. Unfortunately, Tavares was pulled out of the newly made fight due to injury, setting up a fight between Jacoby and fellow UFC newcomer Clifford Starks. He then returned to the octagon against Dongi Yang at UFC on Fuel TV 3 on May 15, 2012. He won a unanimous decision. The following September, Tavares earned a split decision over former BAMMA Middleweight champion, Tom Watson, at UFC on Fuel TV 5. Tavares followed up with a unanimous decision win over former DEEP Middleweight champion, Riki Fukuda, at UFC on Fuel TV 8 in Saitama, Japan. Tavares faced Robert McDaniel on August 28, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 27. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Tavares then faced Lorenz Larkin at UFC Fight Night 35 in Duluth, Georgia. Tavares walked away with a unanimous decision victory. Tavares then faced up-and-coming and highly touted Yoel Romero at UFC on Fox 11 on April 19, 2014. He lost the bout via unanimous decision, ending his 5 fight win streak. Mixed martial arts record References External links * *Official UFC Profile Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:American mixed martial artists Category:American people of Korean descent Category:Middleweight mixed martial artists Category:Mixed martial artists from Hawaii